Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated with folic acid for dual target-specific drug delivery and MRI in cancer theranostics

•FA-SPIONs as the drug carrier and MRI contrast agent are prepared.•FA-SPIONs show low cytotoxicity.•FA-SPIONs target MCF-7 cells efficiently.•Magnetic field improved tumor growth inhibiting efficiency of DOX@FA-SPIONs.

Monodispersed SPIONs (superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles) co-coated with PEG and PEI polymers were prepared by an improved polyol method. To accomplish cancer-specific targeting properties, FA (folic acid) was then modified on the SPIONs via EDC/NHS method (FA-SPIONs). Doxorubicin (DOX) as an example anticancer drug was loaded within FA-SPIONs (DOX@FA-SPIONs), the DOX release rate of DOX@FA-SPIONs was much high in low pH PBS. The SPIONs, FA-SPIONs and DOX@FA-SPIONs with mean hydrodynamic diameters of 23, 40 and 67 nm, respectively, performed excellent colloidal stability in PBS. Confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) study implicates that the DOX@FA-SPIONs target MCF-7 cells efficiently through the FA receptor-mediated endocytosis. DOX@FA-SPIONs were tested in nude mice with xenograft MCF-7 breast tumor though tail intravenous injection and were found inhibiting tumor growth more efficiently. The application of a magnetic field (MF) greatly improved the growth inhibiting efficiencies of DOX@FA-SPIONs on MCF-7 cells in vitro and on xenograft MCF-7 breast tumor of nude mice in vivo. The aggregation of SPIONs in tumor was monitored by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the DOX@FA-SPIONs exhibited high r2 relaxivity (81.77 mM− 1S− 1). Histology on liver, Lung, kidney and heart in mice showed no significant toxicity of DOX@FA-SPIONs on mice organs after 35-day treatment. The FA-SPIONs are a high efficient drug delivery nanoplatform for advanced cancer theranostics.

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